The Ise Sword - A Bleach One-Shot
by TheWeepingTurtle
Summary: A Bleach One-Shot centered around Kyouraku Shunsui and his memories, thoughts, and feelings about what has happened in the past. Spoiler: for Bleach manga chapters 651-652. Things have been taken from the manga word-for-word. Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach, I don't.


Spoiler: For Bleach chapters 651-652. Some things have been taken from the manga word-for-word. Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach, I don't.

 _"This is…Something that will not respond except to those of the Ise house. No misfortune will befall you for having this...Besides those…Of the Ise house… You are the only one I can trust. So please, I implore you…" She murmered as she pushed the wrapped package into my arms._

It had been two years since my brother died, and three weeks since the execution. Nanao's mother…

 _"Execution!?" I exclaimed._

 _"Yeah, The central 46 appears to have made their ruling on the charges relating to the loss of the sacred treasures… And the execution was held yesterday." Jushiro said as he slowly padded up next to me and sat down. "Sorry… Maybe I should have kept it to myself."_

 _"Nah, I'd much rather hear it sooner than later."_

The Holy Sword Hakkyouken… The pins…

 _"Thank you." The words went unspoken as my brother laid on his deathbed, his hand raised up towards me and opening to reveal two flower shaped pins. The pins were his wife's…She had given them to him as a wedding gift, a symbol of their love. She had worn them everywhere at one point, but after marrying my brother she had switched to a very pink kimono. So why did he want me to have them?_

 _No… Don't say thank you… What did I do? I did nothing to except your thanks, and yet you give it to me anyways? Why? Why must you thank me for doing nothing?_

 _I painstakingly raised a shaking arm and grasped the two pins, slowly lifting them from his palm and bringing them back to my body. He let his hand drop. He died with a smile._

 _Why is it that… All those around me… Keep entrusting their most precious belongings to me and pass away? It's a heavy burden…And one most difficult to bear…_

 _Nanao-chan I… I will not fail you… No, I will protect you._

Yes it had been three weeks since the execution.

I spent all of those three weeks trying to avoid anyone of the Ise house. I didn't want to see her daughter's child-like features ruined from the sorrow. I feel like a coward. Nanao needs someone to be there for her, ready to comfort her when the time comes. So why am I so afraid?

I know why I am afraid. The only Zanpakuto that the Ise family has ever owned was supposed to be passed down to Nanao after her mother died. Instead, the woman who had married my now deceased brother had given it to me. As long as her daughter was not in possession of the family Zanpakuto, Hakkyouken, she would not be affected by the Ise curse. She would be able to marry a handsome and charming man and wouldn't have to worry about him dying young. Since any man that married into the Ise house was sure to die young. It was the sword. It was cursed.

Meant only for rituals and slaying transcendent-like beings, the bladeless Zanpakuto Hakkyouken was put into my hands, to be hid by my Zanpakuto using the game she loves most, Hide-And-Seek.

I smiled as I thought once more of that darling little girl Nanao. She deserved more than what she was being presented to her. I may not be able to offer her a Zanpakuto, no, she will never be able to truly have a Zanpakuto, but I can still watch over her as she grows.

I stood up and slowly lumbered towards the door to exit my office. I will do everything I can for her. She deserves that much, if not more.

 **Sixty-Two Years Later**

Nanao was excited. Today she would see what squad she had been accepted into. It was most likely the Kido Corps, since she had no Zanpakuto and excelled in Kido.

She bounded up to the sign board. A large sheet of paper was pinned to the wooden surface, the whole entire sheet covered in names and the person's division number. She tried to see behind heads, but to no avail. She got pushed back as she stood on her tippy-toes.

Growling, she practically jumped into the group of newly-accepted Shinigami recruits and pushed her way to the board. What she saw was not what she was expecting.

"…The Eighth Division…?"


End file.
